Falcons Prepare For Vick and Eagles

The Eagles are a team with a ton of talent. They have an offense featuring plenty of star power. Old Atlanta QB Michael Vick leads the offense that includes Jeremy Maclin, Desean Jackson, and incredible RB LeSean McCoy. The only problem is their porous offensive line. Behemoth LT King Dunlap was replaced in the starting lineup, but will be returning this week. He has been an open gate when playing, with the rest of the line struggling as well, leading to 17 sacks through just 6 games. That in turn has led to Vick turning the ball over left and right. He has thrown 8 interceptions and fumbled the ball 6 times, losing 3. Simply put, this team has really bet themselves.

Still, they are no push over. Despite their struggles, they are still a reasonable 3-3, and all but one game has been decided by 3 points or less. They have been in every game besides a blowout to Arizona. Keep in mind they have also played some pretty tough competition. The teams with losing records so far on their schedule has been Cleveland and Detroit. They also beat a good Baltimore team and the defending champion Giants. This game coming up will be a huge deal for them as well. They just fired DC Juan Castillo whose defense has managed only 7 sacks this year. Andy Reid has been asked week after week if Vick is still their starter. If he doesn’t start winning soon, they could bring in rookie Nick Foles. For now though, VIck is the starter and he will have some extra motivation to win this one, to keep his job.

Both teams are coming off byes, which probably helps the sputtering Eagles. The Falcons probably were hoping to keep playing though. At 6-0, they are the only undefeated team in the NFL. They are red hot and a week off may have taken them a bit out of their rhythm. Still, they have the talent to matchup with any team. This should be an outstanding game. If Atlanta can take an early lead, they may force the disgruntled Eagles into some mistakes and seal the game early. However, if they allow them to stay in the game, I am bit concerned that the Eagles have a little more motivation to pull this one out.